Propelling and steering boats



c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOI-IN VESLY WILLIAMS, OF PORTSMOUTH, ASSIGNOR ONE-HALF TO f ALFONSOMERCER, OF BRAMBLETON, VIRGINIA.

PROPELLING AND STEERING-BOATS.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 464,408, aereaDeeember I, 1891.

Application tiled April 8, 1891. Serial No. 38v8,132. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN WEsLY WILLIAMS, of Portsmouth, in the county ofNorfolk and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Propelling and Steering Boats; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, which will enable others skilled in the art to'which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements i-n devices forpropelling and steering boats.

The obj ect of the invention is to provide an improved simple, cheap,and durable device which can be applied to any boat and can be easilyoperated for propelling andsteering the same and which combines inoneapparavtus propelling and steering means.

The further object is to provide a screwpropeller and hand-operatingmeans therefor which can be easily and quickly applied to or detachedfrom a boat.

y These objects are accomplished by, and this invention consists in,certain novel features of construction and in combinations of parts morefully described hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of thestern of a boat having the present invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 isa sectional view of the driving and steering mechanism. Fig. 3 is an endview of the gearing for continuously rotating the drive-shaft. Fig. 4 isa section of said gearing.

-In the accompanying drawings, @indicates the stern of the boat, havingthe rudder-post b.

c are the bearings, formed by horizontal eyes, loops, or any othersuitable means secured to and projecting horizontally from the outeredge of the rudder-post.

(l indicates the strong straight tubular framel or post, preferablyconstructed of metal andof the length to extend, preferably, above therudder-post of the boat, open at its upper and lower ends, and at itsupper end 5o provided with bifurcated frame e, comprising two verticalsides, and at its lower end provided with the strong heavy right-anglepiece f, extending horizontally and rearwardly from the lower end of thetubular post and then downwardly at or substantially at right angles,and at its lower end provided with horizontal bearing g'. Thepropeller-shaft 7L is mounted in and projecting through this bearing g,and at its outer end is provided with the suitable screw-propeller t',rigidly mounted thereto, with its hub bearing against outer side of saidangle pieceor arm and at its inner end provided with the small beveledpinion j, with itsv hub bearing against inner side of said angle pieceor arm. A vertical drive-shaft j extends through and is mounted in thetubular post and on its lower end is providedwith a bevel or gear la,meshing with said beveled pinion on the propeller-shaft, and on itsupper end is provided with a beveled pinion Z, located in thelowerportion of the bifurcated frame on the upper end ot' the tubular post,

the hubs of the beveled gearing on the opposite ends of said verticaldrive-shaft preventing vertical play of said drive-shaft in the tubularpost. A horizontal shaft n extends through and is mounted in thebifurcated frame on the upper end of the tubular post and the pair offacing beveled gears o p are in a frame on said horizontal shaft meshingwith said beveled pinion on the upper end of the vertical drive-shaft.'Ihe gears 0 p have rigid with their inner ends ratchet-wheels q r,respectively, having their teeth facing in opposite directions.

The combined operating lever and tiller t is provided with the handle atits outer end e and at its opposite end is loosely mounted on the saidhorizontal shaft n snugly betweenthe same are oppositely arranged, sothat IOO when the operating-lever is swung one pawl will engage androtate its ratchet wheel, while the other pawl will loosely run over itsratchet-wheel. The ratchet-wheel rotated will rotate its beveled gear,which will rotate the drive-shaft and propeller .in a direction to forcethe boat forward. When the operating-lever is moved in the oppositedirection', the said last-mentioned pawl will rotate its ratchet-wheeland gear in the direction opposite to the other ratchet-wheel and gear,and will thereby continue to rotate the drive-shaft and screw in thesame direction, as the two opposite beveled gears are on and engage'oppoF site sides-of the pinion'on the upper end of the drive-shaft andconsequently drive it in the same direction. also constitutes the tilleris of sufficient length to extend' into the stern of the boat, so thatit can be easily swung up and down or laterally by the person locatedtherein.

The tubular post on the edge opposite the angle-arm supporting thepropeller-shaft is provided with suitable journals or hooks w, to enterbearings or eyes on therudder-post, so that these journals can lbedropped into said horizontal bearings, allowing the tubular post andpropeller to swing laterally freely, so as to direct the propeller toany suitable angle, so as to steer the boat. The upper clevi-s of thetubular post is preferably provided with a spring-bolt y, to detachablysecure the elevis to the bearing-eye of the rudi der-post. By this meansthe operating-lever extending above stern of the boat can be swunglaterally at any suitable angle while being operated up and down,thereby moving the propeller laterally, so as to steer the boat in thedesired direction.

It is obvious that any suitable means can be employed for securing thisdevice to the boat to freely swing laterally, and I do not limit myselfto the peculiar hinging or connecting means herein shown, as this issimply the ordinary manner of mounting a` rudder to the rudder-post.

The great utility and extreme simplicity of this invention are obvious.It can be applied easily and quickly to any boat of similar size, andcan be easily operated to propel and steer the boat Without the use ofthe rudder. Of course, any power can be employed to rotate drive-shaft.

The invention can be manufactured and sold separately and applied to anyboatand can be easily and quickly detached therefrom, when it is desiredto employan ordinary rudder or other propelling means.

It is obvious that various changes might b made in the form,construction, and arrangement of the parts described without departingfrom the spirit and scope o'f my inven. tion.

Hence I do not wish to limit myself to the peculiar construction hereinset forth; but

What I claim is 1. A propelling mechanism for boats, comprising thetubular post having angle-arm The operating-lever which at its lowerend, the short propeller-shaft mounted in said angle-arm, a propeller onone end thereof, the shaft extending through said post having a gear onits lower end meshing with said propeller-shaft gear, a gear on itsopposite end, and gearing carried by the upper end of the post tocontinuously rotate said shaft inl the same direction.

2. In the propelling or steering mechanism, the combination of verticalpost provided with means to hinge the same to the stern of a boat, thehorizontal propeller-shaft supported from the lower end of said post, adriveshaft extending through the post, gearing conv necti-ng saiddrive-shaft and propeller-shaft, the opposite beveled gears in the frameat the upper end of said post engaging opposite sides to saidshaft-gearing, said beveled gears provided with the oppositeratchetz-wheels', and

Athe lever having opposite" pawls tol engage said oppositeratchet-wheels and thereby rotate said beveled gears in oppositedirections and continuously rotate. the drivess'haft in the samedirection.'

3. The combination, with the boat, of the propelli'ngand steeringmechanism hinged to the stern thereof and comprising a verticaldrive-shaft and support therefor hinged tothe boat, the propeller'andits shaft' carried by said support7 and pawl-and-ratchet mechanismcarri'ed by the upper end of said support to continuously rot-ate saiddrive-shaft in the same direction, and a lever extending from the sternof the boat to operate said p'awl-andratchet mechanism and to controlthe lateral swing of the propelling and steeringmec'hanism. l

4. A propelling andV steering device consisting of the vertical tubularVpost provided with exterior means for mountingV such post to swinglaterally at the stern of a boat, thehori'- zontal' propeller-shaftmounted at and` carried by the lower end of such post and provided withtheprlopeller, the vertical; shaft extending through and mounted in suchpost-, gearing connecting such vertical shaft' and the propeller-shaft,gearing carried by the upper end of such post to rotate such shaft, and

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and actuate the gearing, substantially as described.

5. In combination, the vertical tubular post,

means for hinging theA same to a boat, theshort horizontalpropeller-shaft carriedy by lower end of said post and provided withpropeller, the vertical shaft extending through and carried by suchpostand connected by gearing to rotate the propeller shaft, the swinginglever extending laterally from and carried by the upper end of suchpost, and gearing connectingr said lever and vertical shaft and arrangedto rotate said shaft by thevertical swing of such lever, the angle ofthe propeller being directed by the lateral swing of such lever,substantially as described.

6. In combination, a boat, the vertical tubular post having lateraljournals removably vmounted at the stern of the boat, so that said Intestimony that I claim the foregoing as post can swing horizont-ally,the propeller and. my own I aix my signature in presence of two itsshaft carried by lower end of post, the Witnesses.

shaft extending through post and geared to J Ol-IN WESLY WILLIAMS. i 5rotate propeller, and the lever carried by up- Witnesses: Y

per end of post to swing the same horizontally JNO. W. IIAPPER,

and geared to rotate said shaft. G. F. EDWARDS.

